Top Ten Reads for July
From a novel of 'girl meets cat' to a profound reckoning of the film industry. From the history-shaping world of parasites to the final installment of a generation defining graphic novel series. Presenting your Top Ten Reads for July
Florenzer
Florenzer
2nd July
A 12-year-old Leonardo da Vinci arrives in 15th-century Florence, where his life intersects with a banker and a priest. Florenzer is an intricately detailed masterpiece of historical fiction, as well as a sultry, sexy evocation of renaissance Florence. Melanson is a new voice to be reckoned with.
Heartstopper Volume 6
Heartstopper Volume 6
2nd July
The sixth and final (!!!) volume of Alice Oseman's landmark queer YA graphic novel series sees Charlie busy attempting to become head boy, while Nick is preparing for the huge changes that starting university will bring about. A true publishing phenomenon – read it before the Netflix series catches up!
The Land and Its People
The Land and Its People
2nd July
Whether lamenting the death of a childhood friend, upbraiding someone playing music without headphones on the train, listing the ways his late mother was cool, or describing being sexually harassed by women in New York, Sedaris is the master of being candidly, entirely, uniquely himself and taking the reader with him every step of the way in these slice-of-life essays in many shades of light and dark.
A Sudden Flicker of Light
A Sudden Flicker of Light
7th July
In a profound reckoning, which explores both the high and low points of film history, the distinguished film writer confronts the dark side of the movies, arguing that it is “responsible for creating an alternate reality and fantasyland that has only deepened the isolation and disconnection of our society over the course of a century”.
Push the Wall
Push the Wall
16th July
The Graphic Novel legend behind Sin City and The Dark Knight Returns shows himself to be a creative maverick and an innovative artist and storyteller. Push the Wall is an autobiography with a difference, where the work takes centre stage.
Homer-Haunted
Homer-Haunted
16th July
Reviewing poetic works where Homer’s stories have taken root by writers including George Chapman, Alexander Pope, John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Derek Walcott and Alice Oswald, English literature professor Power explores how and why Homer’s stories and heroes have shaped the way poets read, write and think, ever since they were first sung thousands of years ago, by a poet who may never have actually existed.
Cool Machine
Cool Machine
21st July
Whitehead is the only living author to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, for The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys. He is back with the exhilarating finale to the Harlem trilogy, which also works as a standalone. In a rapidly changing 1980s New York, Ray Carney – successful furniture business owner/master fence of stolen goods – bets on one last heist to help his beloved wife. Roaming across the boroughs, teeming with vivid characters, this is an action-packed portrait of the grit and glamour of Reagan-era New York – and the risks of balancing criminality and family.
Hidden Creatures
Hidden Creatures
30th July
Kenyan entomologist Martins loved living things from boyhood, and now leads the Turkana Basin Institute, founded by Dr Richard Leakey. From “marvellous maggots” and “magnificent mosquitoes” to “beautiful bedbugs”, “titillating ticks” and “luscious leeches,” you'll be captivated by his infectiously enthusiastic account of the lives of parasites across the world. Martins explores how they live by exploiting other living things and how, despite their apparently revolting habits, they are often a vital part of thriving ecosystems.
Plant Lady
Plant Lady
30th July
A chilling feminist psychological horror about a green-fingered serial killer who tends her plant shop by day and buries the remains of her male customers by night. Perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and My Sister, the Serial Killer.
Kitten
Kitten
30th July
Following Katie, a graduate desperately attempting to resist the impending necessity to 'adult', Kitten is an all too relatable tale of girl meets cat. Sad girl lit meets weird girl lit, and it's sure to be one of this summer's must-read debuts.
